If Easter isn’t a time for treating yourself when is? If you are looking to spoil that special someone in your life once Lent is over and done with, look no further than M&Sand their brand new luxury Easter egg collection. Designed and hand-crafted by award winning Irish chocolatiers Lir, the collection is where style meets decadent indulgence.

Founded in 1987, Lir Chocolates was the brainchild of Connie Doody and Mary White, and is now headed up by Ann Murray, Creative Director. Lir first teamed up with M&S in 2011 to collaborate on their hugely successful Dine in Deals and this milestone was the beginning of an enduring relationship between the multi-award winning brand and M&S.

From their headquarters in Navan, Co. Meath, Lir creates striking, bespoke Easter eggs to meet the exacting standards of M&S but “with demand comes excellence”, Ann notes. Employing 150 permanent staff and up to 350 in peak seasons of Christmas and Easter, it is all hands on deck, literally, when it comes to crafting the handmade creations Lir and M&S are synonymous with.

This excellence is abundantly evident in the 2018 Easter collection, which is a line of edible art no chocolate lover could resist. Whether it is just a delicious and gift-worthy petite sweet treat or an egg-citing extravagance, the line of crave-worthy creations has something for chocolate lover’s young and old.

Lir operates with a fully sustainable cocoa and chocolate supply and takes the process of chocolate craft to new heights with precision at every step of production. From celebratory gift boxes of chocolates to the celebrated Easter line, each creation prioritises art over colour, utilising all-natural sheens and sprays which are applied by hand to each and every egg.

This dedication to creating haute couture chocolate is most striking in this year’s premier Belgian Chocolate Egg with mini Marc de Champagne shimmered truffles, which looks far more suited to a runway than a store shelf. Metallic fuchsia and shimmering gold hues adorn the artistic creation, the cutting edge of edible art, available in M&S stores for €18.

Keeping to the exquisite end of the scale, you’re never too old to have the Belgian Milk and Dark Chocolate Egg with golden dulche de leche truffles (€30) on your Easter wish list. Striking, gold guilded and utterly irresistible, this egg has been named Showstopper Egg of 2018 by Good Housekeeping, scoring 80/100 points.

For those fruit and nut lovers, and there are many, Lir’s Fruit and Nut Milk Chocolate Lattice Egg is a dream Easter gift, as delicious as it is abundant looking, studded with shimmer sprayed almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios and sultanas. To create the finished intricate lattice detail, moulds are exactingly hand-piped to finish a tantalising and tempting treat.

Little ones aren’t overlooked in the stylish and fun new collection, with last year’s sell out Laid Back Lamb making a return to the shelves for €19.99 and a brand new covetable Easter treat for kids and adults alike – The Burrowing Bunny. Almost too adorable to eat, this ultimate Easter bunny is sure to put a smile on everyone’s face, for €22.99.

The collaboration between M&S and Lir has resulted in some of the most egg-stravagant Easter treats you’ll see on shelves this year, and they have certainly excelled in their goal of offering magnificent creations that will leave a lasting sweet taste.

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